Paddy McGuinness, presenter of the popular BBC TV show Top Gear, has officially scooped the Guinness World Records title for the fastest electric ice cream van.
He's only gone and done it. At the helm of Mr Nippy - @PaddyMcGuinness hit 80.043mph at Elvington Airfield; achieving a new @GWR Guinness World Records title for "Fastest Electric Ice Cream Van". Now, who fancies a 99?
— Top Gear (@BBC_TopGear) November 1, 2020
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The presenter reached a speed of 80.04 mph at Yorkshire’s Elvington Airfield on the 26th October in order to break the record on a cold, wet and windy Monday in the aptly named ‘Mr Nippy’ ice cream van.
The vehicle was built from a 1979 Bedford CF ice cream van with a 1980’s Land Rover 110 chassis, and powered by Tesla running drive gear and Mercedes / Tesla batteries.
To break the record, ‘Mr Nippy’ needed to meet specific criteria including its design being based on a traditional and commercially available ice cream van.
The van needed to have a large serving hatch, as well as having a cooling system on board and the ability to serve soft serve style ice cream.
The record speed was taken as the average of the fastest consecutive runs in opposite directions of the track, which needed to be completed within an hour of each other.
The speed was measured using a ‘speed trap’ consisting of electronic timing lights placed at 100 metres.
"Since joining Top Gear I’ve already had a lifetime’s worth of amazing experiences but achieving a Guinness World Records title is total life goals. The distant jingle of an ice cream van still makes kids and adults giddy with excitement and I hope viewers enjoy what we’ve done with the unique Mr Nippy." - Paddy McGuinness
Paddy has claimed the title from inventor Edd China, whose record features in this year’s Guinness World Records 2021 edition, after he reached a speed of 73.921 mph in his 'Edd’s Electric Ices' van in March this year.
See Edd China's ice cream van and various other amazing inventions in Guinness World Records 2021, available to buy now.
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